The Softest And Cutest Of The Dukes - Chapter 68

CHAPTER 68

As soon as I stood at the warp gate to go to the Tigris Duchy, a black figure leaped fiercely towards me. Ciel, who hasn’t been by my side often lately due to his duties in the mansion, somehow knew that I was going to the Tigris Duchy and stood at the warp gate.

“Ciel.”

At my call, Ciel jumped into my arms. Father watched with an expression of disapproval.

“We’re going to the Tigris Duchy. Do you want to go, Ciel?”

Meow.

He responded as if understanding my words.

“But he’s a male. I wonder why he always seems to bother our daughter.”

“Because I’m his owner.”

It was clear that Ciel instinctively knew that without my protection here, he’d be kicked out in no time. Avoiding Father’s gaze, Ciel looked pitiful and nestled quietly.

“Well, there’s nothing we can do. Let’s go.”

At Father’s words, the magician infused mana into the warp gate. The surroundings changed in an instant as a white light cluster formed, and as soon as we arrived at the Tigris Duchy, my feet had to part with the ground and the familiar.

“Our dear girl, you’re here at last. You don’t know how much we’ve missed you.”

“I missed you too. And Grandpa and Grandma.”

“Really? Then come every day. I’ll come to greet you every day.” 

Helena, hugging me affectionately, bombarded me with endless kisses on my cheeks.

“Oh, Uncle! Please come in. Mom is showcasing her culinary skills after a long time.”

“Is that so? Well, I never dreamt that she would personally prepare something. 

“It seems that Lady Rafi’s request for ‘cock-a-doodle-doo’ when she visits is being put into practice.”

As soon as they heard the news that Father and I were coming through the communication link, Grandma seemed to be in the middle of actually catching silkies. 

She could have asked someone else to do it, but Grandma, who was personally preparing the dishes, heard that we had arrived and rushed out of the kitchen.

“Grandma, I missed you.”

“Oh, our Rafi! My dear, your grandmother also longs to see her granddaughter every day.”

To ensure that Grandma didn’t feel my absence too much, I deliberately drew pictures for her. As a result, Grandma looked at my drawings for at least an hour or two every day, exchanging words with them, as I remembered from a conversation with Daniel.

When I hugged Grandma and gave her kisses on her cheeks loud enough for a “smooch” sound, she had a very happy expression.

“Oh? Did Aunt come? Welcome, Aunt and Grandpa.”

This time, I moved from Grandma’s arms to Aiden’s arms. Ciel, who nuzzled my cheek with his cheek, seemed to wonder what was so great.

“Did you contact Lady Sabina?”

“Yeah, I just talked to her. She wants to come because she heard that Aunt is here.”

Sabina hadn’t been coming to the Tigris Duchy very often these days. She used to come and go freely until Aiden proposed.

“What is she doing?”

“She’s in bridal training. Some said she doesn’t have to do that, but it’s something the royal family is ordering, so there’s no choice. Well, Duke Tigris has a hand in it.”

It’s not your strength, it’s the power of your family. I pressed my hand firmly on Aiden’s nose, which was soaring into the sky without knowing its place.

“But is there bridal training?”

“Why?”

“It seems like they’re sending her there to keep her away from me.”

“Come on, Aiden! Where can you find a sweetheart like her?”

“You’re right, she’s unique.”

If it weren’t for me, Aiden, who would still be under Matilda’s thumb, made a sulky expression.

“Anyway, something doesn’t seem quite right… It’s not like I can go there.”

Aiden and Sabina were still separated because they hadn’t received permission to enter the Sylvester Kingdom.

“Never mind. For sure, you’ll have good news soon.”

“How would Aunt know?”

“I just know.”

It’s just a hunch, maybe. Or maybe not.

I shrugged my shoulders, and Aiden nodded. It seemed like he had infinite trust in me, probably because of what happened last time when I let him and Sabina go.

“Oh! Rice Cake Auntie, why are you here just now? I’ve been waiting for so long.” 

Jaden, who appeared next, took me away from Aiden’s arms and tried to escape.

“What are you doing right now?”

“I’m going to study with Aunt, so don’t disturb me!”

Aiden couldn’t keep up with Jaden, who was also practicing swordsmanship. Thanks to that, I was legally kidnapped while my father watched with wide-open eyes.

Jaden, who entered my room, sat me in a child’s chair. With a look as if he was about to extract something valuable, Jaden seemed to have prepared everything in advance, including my chair. 

Then Ciel climbed onto the desk and quietly toasted bread while listening to my Ancient Language class with Jaden.

Eventually, when he got bored, Ciel jumped down and went outside. 

“Geez, are you still mad? Who are you pouting at!”

“Well, I guess you resemble Mom.”

“Hmm, you don’t say! You’re not mad!”

Even though I scolded him, Jaden laughed heartily as if something was very amusing. After enjoying the Ancient Language class for a while, Jaden closed the book and carried me down to the dining room.

“Grandpa, I missed you. Did you miss me?”

“Why wouldn’t I miss you? I saw you every day in my dreams. Hahaha.”

A warm atmosphere was created. I naturally sat beside Grandma. She used to eat in bed before, but gradually, as Grandma got better, she could now eat in the dining room with us.

“Here! Have some of this. Our precious son-in-law!”

Grandma personally placed a chicken dish she had made in front of her father. As if that weren’t enough, Grandma even tore the chicken for Father herself.

“Thank you.”

“Feel free to bring Rafi with you at any time. I’ll personally cook for you anytime.”

Father, who had eaten the chicken dish, smiled faintly and nodded. Seeing father express his enjoyment with his expression, Grandma looked very pleased.

“Honey, what about me?”

“You eat delicious food all the time.”

“Well, those are dishes prepared by the kitchen staff… I want to eat something made by you.”

“When you were younger, I did that a lot. You didn’t eat anything that I didn’t cook, so I had to prepare three meals a day for you. Do you know how difficult that was?”

“Isn’t it because your cooking tastes so good, my taste buds got used to it?”

Listening to the conversation between Grandpa and Grandma, I secretly sighed. Grandma came from a quite distinguished family, so I wondered if she had been taught how to cook.

“Did you learn how to cook, Grandma?”

“Huh? Oh… what I liked the most was cooking. But after I got married into the Tigris family, I was so busy… Whew…”

She must have been really busy. She wasn’t just from any family; she was the hostess of the Tigris Duchy, ruling the North. Even if she had kitchen staff to prepare ingredients, Grandma can’t just cook always. Moreover, as the hostess, she had to take responsibility for the extensive household of the Duke. Her sense of responsibility must have been quite heavy.

“Our Rafi, Grandpa has a refined palate, so he always wanted different dishes for every meal to avoid eating the same thing he had the day before.”

“Wow, Grandpa is amazing. I thought other people didn’t stand a chance.”

“Heh, I wasn’t so ugly that I would be chased away.”

“When I was young, I nodded at the compliments that my grandfather was handsome. I had seen portraits of the previous Duke Tigris with Maria before. It was about my grandfather’s childhood appearance.”

“Truly handsome men are considered a blessing, aren’t they? At the time, I felt like I understood why even when my grandfather made unreasonable requests, my grandmother didn’t run away or chase him off.”

“Even back then, there were quite a few good-looking people.”

“I attended a party at the Duke Tigris’ residence, and I saw your grandmother. I’d say I fell for her at first sight.”

“When I noticed that I kept meeting him whenever I went to the strangely invited party for the first time, I smirked.”

“Grandpa fell for Grandma?”

“Of course. For a moment, I thought an angel had descended in front of me. So I went wherever Sophia goes and persistently proposed.”

Even if it was a coincidence at first, it wasn’t a coincidence afterward. In other words, Daniel and Helena exchanged knowing smiles at the mention that Grandfather deliberately wore a tuxedo to impress Grandmother.

“Every time I proposed, Sophia rejected me.”

“I can see too. I wasn’t really into the delicate, scholar type. I preferred a solid knight type. I don’t know how I ended up accepting your proposal.”

After listening to the story of how Grandfather and Grandmother dated before they got married, I laughed heartily. I cheered for Grandpa’s persistence in following Grandma around, smitten by her.

“Rafi, I hope you’re going to marry the man you like. Good at fighting, competent, and with a good physique… Ahem.”

I nodded in response to Grandma’s words. 

“He’s going to compete with my father.”

“What? Haha, it seems like daughters promise to marry their fathers from the start.”

Grandfather chuckled at my words.

“Honey, we never really heard a promise that Seraphina will marry her father. Besides, when she was little, she immediately fell for our son-in-law at first sight.”

“Words can be deceiving, you know. Anyway, since Rafi can’t marry her father, she’ll have to find another man.”

I simply nodded at the slightly jealous remark. Then, I happily ate the food Grandmother provided, making sounds like yum-yum-yum.

Typically, children of noble families are trained not to make any sound while eating. However, my father never enforced such training on me. The people here seemed to like it more as they watched me eat without restraint.

“Is it tasty?”

“Yes, Grandma, it’s delicious.”

“Oh? Then eat a lot. I’ve prepared it with Rafi’s favorite things.”

Whenever I visited, the household’s menu changed. Since it was food I liked, I obediently ate whatever was offered.

Father also smiled as he tasted the dishes Grandma had prepared.

“Try this too. And that… How about it? Do they taste alright?” 

Whenever Grandfather tried to pick up a dish, Grandma pushed it toward Father.

“Yes, they’re delicious. Mother.”

“Is that so? Eat plenty. To raise our Rafi, you need to eat a lot and stay healthy.” 

Father had already surpassed the standards of being healthy, but Grandma continued to insist that he should eat more. Grandfather, watching this with slightly blurred eyes, encouraged my father to have a drink.

“Come on! Since you’re here, have a drink with me.”

“Oh, if you insist, I’ll gladly accept. Thank you.”

Father usually didn’t drink alcohol, but whenever he came here, he would drink the alcohol Grandfather offered. Father, who received the drink Grandpa poured, downed it in one gulp. Then Grandfather filled his empty glass again.

“Father, I can’t drink anymore.”

“Oh, is that so? Can’t even drink when your father-in-law offers it.”

Father, who had broken his long abstinence from alcohol, had a slightly flushed face as Grandfather’s offered drinks exceeded a few rounds. Despite that, when father declined the next round, Grandfather insisted.

“Honey, stop forcing the drinks.”

“It’s alright. A man should be able to handle this much.”

Grandfather, who said he would see father’s drinking ability, wobbled his head as he ate and drank, then stuck out his tongue, looking a bit tipsy.

“Tsk, your tolerance is weak…”

At that moment, when Daniel saw the bottle of red liquor that Grandfather was holding, he had a horrified expression.

“Grandfather… that’s a 45% alcohol.”

“What? 45%? Honey! Are you crazy? How can you keep offering such strong alcohol to your son-in-law?”

Surprised, Grandma stopped feeding me and said something to Grandfather.

“At least this much should be the norm.”

“Well, he’s the esteemed husband of our late daughter. Should we make our son-in-law drink such strong alcohol? Do you have common sense or not?”

That day, Grandfather was carefully placated with gentle words from Grandma, leaving out her laughter during mealtime.